Safari with Miles 3:Rat-a-Bat-Bat

 

Mwahahahaha!  Scared yet?  You should be, because today we’re flying into the world of bats.   Ever wanted to know:

 

• What is a bat, anyhow?
• Is there any truth behind the myths and movies?
• And just what is that pair of freaky fangs for?

First, we will learn about the bat in general.  We will be focusing on the bat superfamily Rhinolophoidea.  These include hollow-faced and false vampire bats.  Each bat has its own unique look.  For example, flying foxes have turned down eyes with narrow slits.

Golden Eared Fruit Bat

 Flying foxes also have a 6-foot wingspan.  Bumblebee bats are the smallest, having the weight equal to a penny!  Now, some people believe myths about baths.  Let’s go see the truth!  First, bats are birds, right?  No!!!!!!!!!  Bats are mammals.  In fact, bats are the only mammals that can fly.  To prove it, bats give birth live, and their pups drink their mom’s milk.  But, except echindas and duck-billed platypuses, no animal lays eggs but reptiles, birds, and most marine life!  Wait, that’s most of the animal kingdom!  But next, we will explore the myth of the vampire!

 

Vampire bat!!!!!!!!!!

Vampire bats suck human blood, right?  No!!!!!!!!!!  They drink cow and horse blood, and throw the garlic out, these bats live only in Latin America!  Next, bats are dirty, right?  No!!!!!!!!!!  They are actually well groomed.  Now, do you look at bats a different way?  Good!  And those fangs?  We need adaptions, so do they.  [See the science encyclopedia's entry on biology for more on adaptions]  They need them for food!  We need food, to!

Are You A Bat Of Hunger?

 Come To The Bat Buffet!

We have each delicacy craved by bats everywhere!

See our menu:

Fruit Bat Papaya Platter:

Fresh tropical papayas of four kinds!

Nick-nacks:

2 of 2 kinds of blood cube!

Buggy Bites:

Fresh moth wings in inchworm sauce!

So come to the Bat Buffet, where takeout is useless, your food will escape!

No thanks!  I’ll take Chinese takeout instead!  But bats are some of the most important animals we know!  So give a standing ovation to all 1,100 species of bats we know about!  Next time, we will look at the wild side of man’s best friend.

 

 

Safari with Miles 2:Between a Croc and a Hard Place

 

Hey!  Miles here with a new safari!  Last time, we explored the world of insects that sting.  This time, we’re exploring the world of crocodilians.  We’ll:

 

 

• Fly to Egypt to find the second largest known reptile
• Go to India to visit the gavial
• And see the most endangered crocodilians

 

First, we’re going to Egypt, which is in northeast Africa.  We’re going after an animal that outsizes even the komodo dragon.  The Nile crocodile.  It is the second largest known reptile on the planet.  

 

Nile Crocodile Basking

The river Nile is full of these reptiles, but we’ll need luck to see one.  Look!  I see one!

 

Big Crocodile!

These crocs are second in size only to the Australian saltwater crocodile.  These animals are big, but this next one is odd-looking.  We’re going to India, to see the gavial.  There’s one!

 

Old Knobby Nose!

These animals have knobs on their snouts, so natives decided they were sacred, and their noses were full of magic!  Last, we are exploring alligators and caimans.  All caiman species are legally protected, so most of them are safe.  

Yacare Caiman

Red Caiman

 

American Alligator

So, we’ve seen caimans, alligators, gavials and crocodiles.  You can see alligators in Florida, at Gatorland or the Everglades.  Next time, we’ll explore the nickers of the night-bats!

Safari with Miles 1:To Bee or not to Bee

 

Hi!  Miles here, with a new series of entries!  We’re going around the world in search of cool and wild animals.  First, we will explore the world of bees and wasps.  Bees are insects, so they have wings as usual.  They are creative animals that build advanced homes.  There are many mysteries behind bees and wasps.  But we know one thing for certain-they’re really wild animals!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Honeybees are common in North America and Europe.  They are the most advanced bees of all.  They are the only bees that sting.  Here is some wild FAQ:

 

Q:Why do bees die when they sting?

A:Easy.  Some important internal organs are attached to the stinger.  Sting and rip!

Q:What are drones?

A:Kings, sort of.  Their job is to eat, rest, and relax.  Sounds easy!  Yup!

Q:What are worker bees?

A:Workers, of course!  They pollinate flowers to get pollen and nectar to make honey.

 

Pollen+Nectar=Honey!

There you have it-honeybees!  On to wasps and hornets.  There are over 20 kinds of hornets-or genus vespa.  They have the worst stings-though Grace from school describes an insect called the wheeler bug.  Go figure!  Most hornets live in south Asia, so lets go!  Ah, there’s a nest!

Hornets-stay back!

Wasps are deadly as well.  Yellow jackets, too.  these deadly critters are amazing, so let’s explore the awesome world of stinging insects!

 

Asian Giant Hornet!

 

Yikes! A Yellow Jacket!

 

Paper Wasps-Mucho Magnified

 

Bee Boy!

 We’ve had a fun time exploring the world of stinging insects together!  Next time, we dive into the swamps of Florida to catch an alligator and comb the Nile for crocs!

Camp Out Journal

Hi there.  Miles here.  Several months ago, the family went on a trip to Massachusetts with Aunt Deirdre and Uncle Geoff.  Here’s my journal of it:

Day One: The Trip Begins

Whoo! Quite early in the morning to be waking up, but we have to, it’s the best way to get to Massachusetts before nightfall.  Okay, into the car.  And look! Mom and Dad were telling us about a surprise, but not like this!  A portable DVD player!  They are so great.  And look at all the movies they got us: Alvin & The Chipmunks, The Dark Crystal, Pee Wee’s Playhouse and The Goonies.  Eli and I have decided that we are going to watch Alvin & The Chipmunks first, and boy is it hilarious.

Now we’re at our detour destination: Boston, Massachusetts.  We’re here for a very important reason.  My friend, Paula S. Apsell, invited us to where she works, WGBH studios.  Okay, we’re here, let’s go into the main waiting room.  Okay, revolving door!  Several minutes later, we’re on our way through our tour.  The pictures below will show what we’ve seen:

 

Large Picture of Studio Lights

 

 

 

Studio G, where Fetch With Ruff Ruffman is filmed!

 

WGBH Master Control

After the tour, we’re taken upstairs — what a view — to the NOVA offices by Kate Becker.  Paula and I met and we had this picture taken together:

Me and Paula Apsell

Paula and Kate gave me some really cool gifts, including DVDs of select NOVA episodes!  They got gifts in return, of course.  Several days before, we had put together gift bags of some of Bethlehem’s fine products, including cookie cutters, paper stars and huge boxes of Mike & Ike’s.  It turned out to be a pretty big coincidence that Paula Apsell’s favorite candies were Mike & Ike’s!  

And so after hanging out, we went to lunch at MIT.  Here’s a picture of the building, designed by Frank Gehry:

 

The Stata Center at MIT

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We met up with our friends Jen and Rosie. Turns out Rosie is only four. We gave them a gift pack, too.  We went into MIT and found some really cool rooms.  The cafeteria was cool, too.  A police car was in the cafeteria!  

After a great lunch, we went to a place called Toscanini’s for ice cream.  Here’s a picture of me, Dad and Eli there:

 

Toscanini

 

Then we went to the park, it had a really awesome mist fountain. There was plenty of room to run around and play. Rosie and I even walked through the mist fountain. After an array of goodbyes, we spent another two hours on the road. Finally we arrived at Maurice’s Campground  in Wellfleet on Cape Cod.  Aunt Deirdre and Uncle Geoff were already there.  

We staked our tent and had dinner.  Then it was time to arrange our sleeping bags, have some Harry Potter reading time and go to bed!

 

 

Day Two: Watching Some Whales

Morning! Time for some cereal.  I need my energy, because today is the grand whale watch!  A three-hour ride of nothing but flukes, dorsal fins and blow holes!  And water, I guess.  But first, it’s time to go to the flea market where we will buy almost nothing, I predict. Hey, ask Houdini, but I’m no mind-reader!

And, the family does buy something — two pairs of clip on sunglasses: B-O-R-I-N-G.

But hey, pretty soon we’re going to be going to Provincetown! Okay, we’re there.  And this place is shop and eat-o-rama!  Lunch at a Portuguese bakery? Check.  Lunch at McDonald’s? Negative!  But who cares about where we eat?  Pretty soon, we’re at the docks:

 

The Provincetown Docks, Pier, Port -- whatever!

 

 

 

We got on our boat for the service –Dolphin Fleet – our boat was called The Dolphin VII, and was it fancy!  Two levels, must have had a huge engine, the whole nine yards.

We’re out on the boat after about an hour and a half of searching, we finally have success.  And when we do, it comes like we won the lottery.  Look at these pictures:

 

d

Dorsal and Fluke

 

We saw 6 humpback whales.  We saw one of them lobtail!  It was an amazing adventure.  I got a souvenir afterward.  It was a model of a gray whale.  I have it in my room.  Tomorrow we go to a wildlife sanctuary  I love this trip!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

DAY THREE: A Nature Hike

Today we are going to the Audubon Society, which is a wildlife sanctuary.  Our first step of the hike is to go by a pond which is very wet and marshy, what would you expect from a pond?  Anyway, we walk into some forest area which then deposits us onto the bay shore.  We can see some islands in the distance.  At high tide, the path is completely covered.  Luckily it isn’t that time of day. We see huge groups of crabs.  They are tiny, here are some pictures:

 

Crabs Close Up

 

A Colony of Crabs

After the crab encounter, we go back into denser forest, then walked by a beautiful grassland setting. The Massachusetts Audubon Society Wellfleet Wildlife Sanctuary is amazing!  

After we left the wildlife sanctuary, we had a picnic dinner on the beach.  

The Very Beautiful Sunset

Tomorrow we leave.  We had a very fun trip in Massachusetts.  I especially enjoyed the great outdoors and the fun of exploring on the trail across from our camp site.